Love is in the air and Valentine ’s Day is right around the corner. Wait, weren’t we just celebrating Christmas like yesterday? Seriously though, how is it almost February?

Nevertheless, my favorite, mushy gushy, lovey dovey, “I better get flowers” holiday is in just a few weeks and right around this time every year I start pulling all the pinks and reds from my closet. I LOVE to pair these two shades together, but I really only ever feel comfortable doing it in an “over the top” manner when Valentine’s Day is near. Not sure I could get away with this color combination in March, ya know?

I wore a similar outfit a couple years ago and then last year I was so pregnant that I didn’t even want to wear pants, much less a skirt and being cutesy with my holiday fashion just wasn’t a priority lol! But I’m back at it this year with this absolutely beautiful top!

If you know anything about me, then you know I love a good bow. Bows in your hair, bows on your shoes, bows around your neck – doesn’t matter, I just love the femininity of bows. On a side note, it’s too bad my child doesn’t feel the same way considering every time I put a bow in her hair, she pulls it off her head and throws it down with this vindicated “take that mama” attitude. Ughh, what have Joe and I gotten ourselves into?!

But anyway, back to me…and more importantly, back to this shirt!

The original intention when I ordered this shirt was obviously for Valentine’s Day. The pink ruffles and contrasting red bow were screaming to me from within the computer screen, but once it arrived, I envisioned wearing it on so many more occasions than just for this one particular holiday. How sweet would this top be as a baby shower guest, or even Easter, OR with some crisp white jeans for summer?! The possibilities are endless.

You know what else is endless? The amount of chocolates I’m going to consume this Valentine’s Day! I’m rewarding myself for getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight by eating my weight in chocolate. Then I can restart my goal of getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight and then fall off the wagon with more chocolates, etc. etc. It’s truly a vicious cycle. How are you guys celebrating Valentine’s Day this year? Any big plans!? Do tell in the comments below 🙂

The Super Bowl is just a few days away (go Patriots!), and while I do love football, I always get excited about Super Bowl parties because I get to eat (and make) a lot of great food.

Joe is the chef between the two of us. He absolutely loves cooking and his dream is to open his own restaurant one day. Matter of fact, I’m trying to convince him to start a food blog because he is that good 🙂 But that doesn’t mean I can’t cook…matter of fact, I love to cook! He just happens to love it a little more than I do lol.

So anyway, I am sharing two of my favorite chip dip recipes with y’all today and they are both SUPER simple. I’ve made each of these countless times, and they’re both always a huge hit!

Ps: If you have ever been to Chuy’s and had their jalapeno ranch dip, then you will love this first recipe!!

Jalapeno Ranch Dip

I put this on everything – tacos, salads, on top of a bowl of chili…it’s delicious!

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup chopped jalapeno (I’ll leave the seeds in if I want it to be a little spicier)

1/3 cup green chili (I usually just find a can of green chilies if I can’t find them in the produce section)

1/3 cup cilantro

1 packet of dry ranch mix

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Viola!

Taco Bean Dip

1 can of bean dip

8oz container of sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Packet of taco seasoning

1 bag of shredded cheese (I usually get the taco blend)

Spread the bean dip along the bottom of a square/rectangular serving dish

Mix together sour cream, mayonnaise and taco seasoning packet. Spread on top of beans in serving dish

Part of my new year’s resolution was to take better care of my skin and improve my current skincare plan. Not only was 2017 just one big blur and I did a terrible job at actively taking care of my skin, but pregnancy did some pretty odd things to it in general that I’m still trying to resolve. Aside from the dark patches that appeared on my forehead (melasma), I got terrible breakouts and started growing a new set of hair right on my forehead (I kid you not, I was growing a set of bangs out of nowhere). Top that off with the fact that I was barely washing my face at night, and a lack of sleep and my skin was just sad and in desperate need of a little TLC.

So for 2017, I’ve put a huge focus on all things skincare. From moisturizing my body every day, to toners, tonics, masks, creams, facials, cleansers, etc. You name it, nothing is off limits for my skin this year. I mean NOTHING! Matter of fact, I dream of being able to afford to have a profractional laser taken to my face, but pretty sure Joe would kill me if I spent $1000 on my skin (at least all at once anyway ;))

So to jumpstart on my 2018 ‘get my skin back in shape journey’ (followed by ‘get this body back in shape journey’ lol) I’m sharing all the products/brands that have already make a difference in my skin’s appearance, and all the old faithful products that I love and am bringing back to my regimen. Buckle up beauty babes!

Skincare

I’ve been usingPixi Beauty products for a long time. I’ve used their skincare and their makeup, but I’ve really pushed their skincare to the front of the line in 2018. Rose in skincare (or drinking rose water) is all the rage right now (seriously I’ve read so many articles lately about how beneficial rose is to the skin for its anti-inflammatory properties), so I was really excited to use some of the rose products in the Pixi skincare line, likethis one,this oneand this one, and so far they’ve helped a lot with moisturizing my dry winter skin, as well as helping with minor breakouts and redness.

Another product from Pixi Beauty that I love is their glow tonic. I cannot say enough great things about this product and really credit it to the reason these dark forehead patches have started to diminish. It contains glycolic acid to help exfoliate your skin, as well as aloe vera (I’m a sucker for any product that has aloe vera in it because my skin has always responded so well it) and witch hazel. If you haven’t swiped witch hazel across your face after washing off your makeup, you are truly missing out. I used to usethis witch hazel toner, but have just been using the glow tonic now since it’s a one stop shop.

Body Lotion

I spent 3 weeks (no joke) looking for the perfect body lotion (aside from Crème De Corps) because I just didn’t want to pay the price tag. Aside from having great reviews, it needed to have a pump dispenser so I’d be more inclined to use it, nice packaging so it could sit on my bathroom counter top and it had to smell nice because I was going to put this on my entire body daily. Well, 3 weeks of searching turned into nothing and I got so frustrated that I just went to target and bought this lotion and turns out I LOVE IT! It smells nice without being overpowering, and my skin hasn’t been scaly and painfully dry since I started using it! Bonus – it’s less than $4!

Cleanser

I’ve made it a point to wash my face every night and not just with cleansing cloths, but actually washing my face. That was something I skipped a lot of the time in 2017 and I could tell because my pores were clogged and my skin was dull and drab. I’ve been alternating back and forth between this Derma E cleanser andthis Derma E cleanser and I love both. I use the cleansing mud 4-5 times a week and then the Vitamin A cleanser 2-3 times a week depending on need. The vitamin A cleanser does make my skin feel a little dryer the next day, but nothing a little lotion can’t fix!

Face Masks

I could write a thousand posts on how much I love GlamGlow for face masks, but in all seriousness, I’ve never found a product that my skin loved more than this one! The price makes me cringe, but it’s truly worth every penny and I only use it once or twice a week, so not only does it last forever, it gives my skin that extra boost!

Acne Products

Despite everything, I’m still human and get breakouts or pimples from time to time. I recently purchased the Neutrogena Light Therapy pen and it’s just plain fun to use lol. I’ve always been a habitual ‘picker’ of my skin when I get a zit, and I’ve really been trying to stop that nasty habit. It’s disgusting and makes the zit a thousand times worse, not to mention it’s terrible for your skin. So I bought this pen to try and help me stop picking. So far so good and it really does help with the redness and inflammation of the acne.

Anti-Aging

As I said in this post, Joe got methis product for mother’s day, and it’s no wonder that this company has blown up after releasing it. It’s a game changer in the beauty world and I’ve noticed a HUGE difference since I started using it. I’ve always had forehead wrinkles thanks to my overly dramatic facial expressions and very animated way of speaking lol, and I’ve considered botox 1,001 different times to help with those wrinkles. I never bit the bullet because I was afraid the botox would make me look really surprised or fake, so instead I got theGloPro and while the wrinkles are still there, they look nothing compared to this time a year ago! It also helps with the fine lines around my eyes (ughhh, aging!) and they now make a lip attachment that I’m dying to try.

Now, if I could just remind myself to drink more water in a day and remember to take my multivitamin, I’d be all set! Nevertheless, that sums up my skincare routine. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email!

We are a little more than mid-way through January, and 2018 (so far!) is shaping up to be a good year. My life lately has consisted of me spending the vast majority of this month working my little fingers to the bone, and taking care of a sick baby (ugh!), but she’s on the mend and sleeping soundly as I type this 🙂

For 2018, I knew I wanted to blog more, but I also wanted to work really hard at my photography. You may or may not know, but Joe and I have been figuring all this out as we go, which is partly what makes it such fun! Neither of us knew anything about DSLR cameras prior to starting my blog, and my experience in any Adobe product was zilch. Joe takes 99.9% of my blog photography and I edit 99.9% of those pictures, which can be time consuming and frustrating, especially when you have no idea what you are doing.

Up until about November of last year, I edited all my blog photography on my phone (YIKES!). I used a myriad of different apps (Snapseed, VSCO, ColorStory, FaceTune, Lightroom), but editing on my phone wasn’t giving me the control (or the results) that I wanted. So I’ve been investing a lot of time into learning Lightroom and Photoshop on my computer. If anyone has any tips, tricks or tutorials for either – please share them below! That’s basically how I’ve been learning so far…visiting one blog, then another and then another, stashing away secrets and tidbits from each. Hopefully this time next year, I’ll be a little Adobe whizkid – who knows, maybe I’ll come to love it so much that Joe and I get a 3rd dog and name it Adobe (side note: we will not be getting a 3rd dog, but the name Adobe would be adorable for a little puppy!).

So what else is going on in my life right now? Well Joe and I (and little B) just got back from Michigan where we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary! Can you believe it – 1 year! Sheesh, where does time go?!

We also celebrated my nephew, and now my GODSON’s baptism – eeeek! I’m so grateful and blessed just to be an aunt to two of the sweetest little boys, but I’m truly so honored to get to be a Godparent to one of them and I’ll cherish the unique bond that he and I will get to share forever.

And that’s pretty much it! Time to catch up on some TV while the baby sleeps and the husband is off playing soccer. Will & Grace is calling my name!!!

You had me a merlot…I once saw that on a t-shirt, one I probably should have bought because well merlot is delicious and I have a shopping problem. Anyway, this deep, burgundy merlot shade is my absolute favorite color to wear when the temperatures start dipping. Like literally the second the thermostat reads anything below 50, I put on all my clothes that resemble the ‘red wine’ shade and prance around in excitement.

Usually I would prance around in these burgundy, velvet pants, but I just recently ordered this dress from Amazon (yes, you read that correctly – Amazon) and how beautiful – right?!!!!! The velvet is so luxurious (and warm!) and as I mentioned already, it’s my favorite winter color!

Dressing for Winter (at least here in Chicago) is always a challenge. The temps are brutal most days and so I always look for new ways to look and feel stylish despite how cold and miserable it can be. Here are my top 5 tips for surviving winter:

1. Wear layers

This one is obvious, but it’s a must. I like to start with turtlenecks under button downs, or button downs under sweaters. Adding an extra layer with a puffer vest is always a solid win in my book too!

2. Dress when you get to where you’re going

I’ve done this so many times – especially if I’m wearing a dress. I just carry a tote bag as my handbag for that day, and I something warm (like pants and a sweater) and then change into my real outfit (like a dress) when I get where I’m going.